Grilled Eggplant with Garlic and Parmesan

This grilled eggplant with garlic and parmesan is so easy to make, and the grilled eggplant contrasted with the crispy Parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumb topping will turn you into an eggplant fan, even if you weren't one before.









I had never been much of an eggplant fan, but this Italian style grilled eggplant changed my entire perspective about the vegetable.

Tapas-Syle Meatballs (Albondigas en Salsa)

Meatballs (albondigas) are often enjoyed in tapas bars in Spain for an after work snack and drinks or a glass of wine. 

In cities like Madrid, you might go from bar to bar, having a taste of a small dish and a cocktail before moving onto the next bar to try something different, kind of like a progressive dinner party! 

Vietnamese-Style Meatballs with Rice Noodles (Instant Pot)

These Vietnamese-style pork meatballs, mixed with lemongrass, garlic, shallots, and cilantro and simmered in a sauce of lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and oyster sauce are so full of flavor. Top everything with chopped roasted peanuts for an amazing combination of flavors. 

Serve these meatballs with rice vermicelli noodles, fresh vegetables, and fresh herbs, for a meal similar to Bun Cha, a popular street food in Hanoi. 

Tiny Texas Sheet Cake

This tiny Texas sheet cake takes the potluck classic chocolate cake and shrinks the recipe down to fit into an eight inch square cake pan. 

This tiny Texas sheet cake begins with a cinnamon spiced chocolate cake that is topped with a custardy pecan and coconut frosting. 

Traditional Irish Stew

This Irish stew, with just the traditional ingredients of lamb, potatoes, onions, thyme, and parsley is slow simmered until the meat is tender and the vegetables are full of flavor. 

This recipe for traditional Irish stew uses a slow cooker to braise the all of the ingredients. You can cook the stew on high for about 5 hours, or on low for about 8 hours. Your house will smell amazing when this stew is cooking.

Smoked Salmon Bisque

This smoked salmon bisque is flavored with both fresh and smoked salmon. Although it's an elegant soup with lots of complex flavors, it is super simple to make. 

This salmon soup is creamy and smokey, with so many complex flavors. 

Hungarian Almond Roll

This Hungarian almond roll is made with a simple brioche style dough filled with a sweet almond and dried fruit filling. 

You will love a slice of this almond roll for breakfast with your morning coffee. It's also delicious as a mid afternoon snack. 

Montreal-Style Bagels

These Montreal-style bagels are chewy and tasty, and perfect with a little cream cheese, smoked salmon, and dill for breakfast. 

 

Bagels were introduced to Canada by Yiddish immigrants who settled in an area of Montreal called "The Main." According to the book, Inside the Jewish Bakery, the first bagel bakery opened in 1919. 

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

These chocolate cherry oatmeal cookies are crispy and chewy, and filled with soft milk chocolate chips and dried sour cherries.

These cookies have the texture of a chewy oatmeal cookie but with all of the goodness of chocolate covered cherries! 

Summer Berry Turnovers

These summer berry turnovers are delicious for breakfast and dessert. They are filled with a mixture of blackberries and raspberries surrounded by an amazing cream cheese pastry that is so simple to put together. You'll pretty much feel like you are a pastry queen. 

If you are a pastry beginner, you definitely need to try this cream cheese pastry dough. It will totally build your confidence. 

Ginger Gold Rush Cocktail

This Ginger Gold Rush Cocktail is a twist on the whiskey sour. The additional ginger liqueur takes this bourbon cocktail to a new level. 

The only reason I tried this Ginger Gold Rush Cocktail was because I had one of those mini bottles of Maker's Mark that Mr. Kitchen had given me as a Christmas stocking stuffer about four years ago. I think he got the idea because I had used bourbon as a marinade ingredient or possibly for making homemade vanilla.

Sourdough and Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These sourdough whole wheat chocolate chip cookies with browned butter are just about the most amazing chocolate chip cookies on the planet. 

 

These sourdough chocolate chip cookies, at about 4 ounces each, are huge. They're not quite pizookie size, but they are pretty big. 

Stir-Fry Mango Ginger Chicken

This stir-fry mango ginger chicken is delicious and refreshing, with mango added at the end of the cooking process and just heated through. 

This recipe involves "velveting" the chicken to keep it moist. Velveting, or waat, includes soaking the chicken in egg whites, corn starch, and rice wine, and then blanching it in water for about a minute prior to stir frying.

Sous Vide Ham and Cheese Egg Bites

These ham and cheese egg bites are a delicious and easy way to prepare a make-ahead "on-the-go" breakfast. Of course, you can also enjoy these at home with all of the usual breakfast menu items. 

If you like the sous vide egg bites from Starbucks, you will love these. Plus, you don't need sous vide equipment to make these. Instead, you can make them in canning jars in your Crock Pot. The first time I tried this method was to make a bacon and Gryére version, which is also delicious.